Excerpts: Burnt tent synagogue.Hamas executes senior official accused spying
for Israel. Obstacles to Saudi private sector. Israel gas for export. UAE
favors U.S.-led ground troops in Syria. Jordan concerns about the Umayyad
Palaces area February 07, 2016

+++SOURCE: Al Arabiya 7 Feb.’16:”Tent that served as a synagogue burned in
West Bank”, by Agence France Presse

SUBJECT:Burnt tent synagogue dedicated to 3 teenagers killed by Palestinians

FULL TEXT:Suspected arsonists in the West Bank have burned a tent that
served as a synagogue dedicated to three Israeli teenagers killed by
Palestinians, provoking an angry reaction from Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.

The tent near the Karmei Tzur settlement in the south of the occupied
Palestinian territory burned on Saturday[6 Feb], causing no injuries but
leaving Jewish religious books damaged and destroyed, police said.

Israeli media reported that police suspected residents of the nearby
Palestinian town of Halhul.

Netanyahu alleged on his Facebook page that the synagogue “was set on fire
by Palestinians”.

“We will prosecute the perpetrators of this crime. I expect the
international community to condemn the desecration of a synagogue, an act
that is the result of incessant Palestinian incitement.”

The synagogue was dedicated to Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal
Yifrach, who were abducted from a hitchhiking stop near the flashpoint West
Bank city of Hebron in 2014 and later killed. Their bodies were discovered
in the area.

A few weeks after their kidnapping, 16-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Abu
Khdeir was abducted and burned alive in a revenge plot by three Israelis.

Two of them -- who were 16 at the time of the killing -- were sentenced on
Thursday[4 Feb], with one receiving a life term and the other 21 years.

The incidents were part of a spiral of violence that led up to the 2014 Gaza
war.


+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 7 Feb.’16:”Hamas executes its own ‘senior official’
“ Agence France Presse

SUBJECT:Hamas executes seniorofficial accused spying for Israel

The armed wing of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, said Sunday7 Sept. it
had executed one of its members, with sources familiar with the case calling
him a senior official accused of spying for Israel.

“The Al-Qassam Brigades announce that the death penalty pronounced against
its member Mahmud Eshtawi has been applied today at 1600 hours,” Hamas’s
armed branch said in a statement.

Executions have previously been carried out in the Gaza Strip, including in
public squares in the Palestinian territory, but it appeared to be the first
time Al-Qassam itself had sentenced one of its own through a court martial
and executed him.

The statement did not provide details on the accusations against him other
than to say that “the Brigades’ military and Islamic judicial committee
issued the sentence because he violated rules and ethics.”

Eshtawi’s duties included overseeing tunnels that have previously been used
to store weapons and carry out attacks against Israel, the sources said.

According to the sources, he was in charge of a large unit and was
previously a close associate of Mohammed Deif, the Al-Qassam chief who has
been a frequent target of Israeli assassination attempts.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said in late December that nine
death sentences had been issued in the Gaza Strip in 2015 and two in the
occupied West Bank.

Since the start of 2016, four Gazans have been handed death sentences after
being accused of spying for Israel.

The Gaza Strip has seen three wars with Israel since 2008.


+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 7 Feb.’16:”Only 5 percent of licensed factories are
up and running says Ministry of Commerce and Industry:’ SUBJECT:Obstacles
before private sector QUOTE:”Shoura Council asked to look into obstacles
before private sector”

Saudi Gazette report

FULL TEXT:RIYADH — At least 95 percent of licensed factories are yet to be
built, according to the Shoura Council’s Economy and Energy Committee.

A source from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the Kingdom’s ninth
Strategic Development Plan includes the expansion and growth of the
industrial sector.

“The ministry has issued 8,690 licenses for factories so far but only 373 of
factories are up and running. With only 5 percent of the licensed factories
operating, the Shoura Council should look into the obstacles preventing the
private sector from building factories,” the source said.

The ministry’s annual report also revealed 1,208 vacant jobs in the
ministry.

“There are currently 1,928 Saudi men and 49 non-Saudi men working for the
ministry, while there are only 56 Saudi women and three non-Saudi women
employees,” the source said.

A source from the Shoura Council’s Economy and Energy Committee said the
committee is working on recruiting more Saudi women based in Riyadh to work
in the sectors the committee overlooks.

“The Ministry of Commerce and Industry needs to put in more effort to
encourage more women to participate in the business sector. The business
sector is currently very active and dynamic and the presence of women in the
growth and development of the sector is important,” the source said.

He said the ministry had been told to enhance the environment of commerce
and industry and to put in place policies to encourage Saudi entrepreneurs
of both genders.

“The environment of a sector affects its productivity and outcome as well as
the rate of investment put into it. If investors believe the process and
procedures of a certain sector hinder productivity, they tend to be
discouraged from investing in it,” the source said.

He said the ministry had also been advised to conduct a comprehensive study
of its performance and benchmark itself with other ministries worldwide.



+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 7 Feb.’16:”Israel Mulling Twin Gas Pipelines
to Turkey. Greece”,by Agence France Presse

SUBJECT:Israel gas for export

Israel is looking to exploit its substantial natural gas reserves with two
potential pipeline projects to Turkey and Greece, its Energy Minister Yuval
Steinitz announced Sunday [7 Feb].

"If things improve with Turkey... gas could both be sold to Turkey, and to
Greece via Turkey," Steinitz told Kathimerini daily.

Israel and Turkey have reportedly been working on a rapprochement after
falling out over the deadly storming by Israeli commandos in 2010 of a
Turkish aid ship.

Steinitz added: "If important reserves are discovered in Israel and Egypt,
or even in Egypt, this could justify the construction of a long pipeline to
Greece."

"At first we estimated that this would cost 15 billion dollars (13 billion
euros), which is prohibitive. Now new estimates reduce this to around seven
billion (dollars)," he said.

At a three-way summit in Nicosia last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said Israel, Greece and Cyprus would form a committee to study
plans to build a pipeline between Israel and Cyprus and on to Greece.

Israel has been trying to extract offshore gas since the discovery of the
Tamar and Leviathan fields in 2009 and 2010.

Production has begun in Tamar, but the far larger Leviathan has been hit by
a series of delays and anti-trust litigation in Israel.

The size of the Leviathan field is estimated at 18.9 trillion cubic feet
(535 billion cubic meters, or bcm) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million
barrels of condensate.

Tamar holds another 250 bcm of natural gas.

Israel intends to export gas from Leviathan to other countries in the
region, which could grant Israel strategic leverage.

The three leaders also discussed plans for an underwater cable to connect
the electricity grids of the three countries.

"It is a project estimated to cost four to five billion dollars," Steinitz
said.

"The connection of Israel and Cyprus by 2019 has already been decided. And
then it is important to connect to Greece," he said.

+++SOURCE:Naharnet(Lebanon) 7 Feb.’16:” UAE Says in Favor of U.S.-led Ground
Troops in Syria”.by Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: UAE favors U.S.-led ground troops in Syria

OUOTE: “U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter… is meeting next week in
Brussels with defense officials from Saudi Arabia and other coalition
members to outline the next steps in the anti-IS campaign”

An international campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria should
include a U.S.-led ground intervention, said Sunday[7 Feb] the United Arab
Emirates' state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash.

"Our position throughout is that a real campaign against Daesh (Arabic
acronym for IS) has to include ground elements," Gargash told reporters in
Abu Dhabi.

"We are not talking about thousands of troops but we are talking about
troops on the ground that will lead the way," he said. "And of course, an
American leadership in this effort is a prerequisite."

In November, Gargash said that the UAE, a member of the U.S.-led coalition
against IS, would "participate in any international effort demanding a
ground intervention to fight terrorism."

Saudi Arabia on Thursday[4 Feb] said it is ready to join any ground
operation by the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Syria.

The Saudi proposal was welcomed by the United States but it was ridiculed by
the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and its key ally Iran.

Russia, another key Assad ally, accused Turkey -- a staunch backer of the
opposition alongside Saudi Arabia and Qatar -- of preparing for "an armed
invasion" of Syria. Ankara dismissed the claim.

The United States has for weeks been calling on partners in the 65-member
coalition bombing the IS group in Iraq and Syria to contribute more.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who last month chastised some
countries for doing "nothing at all", is meeting next week in Brussels with
defense officials from Saudi Arabia and other coalition members to outline
the next steps in the anti-IS campaign.

Gargash said Sunday[7 Feb] that his country has been "frustrated at the slow
pace of confronting Daesh" -- which controls parts of Syria and Iraq.

"We have always said that there are two things lacking -- a genuine
political process in Baghdad that... (would) encompass the Sunnis and a
ground presence for the operations against Daesh."

An Iraqi tribal leader told AFP on Wednesday[3 Feb] that Sunnis must be
given a greater role in the political process of the war-torn country where
the government is led by Shiites, in order to prevent the possible rise of
organizations even more extreme than IS.



+++SOURCE:Jordan Times Feb,7 ’16:” Jordan urges end to Israeli meddling in
Umayyad Palaces. By JT

SUBJECT: Jordan concern about Umayyad Palaces area

AMMAN — Jordan on Saturday[6 Feb] reiterated its denunciation of Israel's
continued violations against the Umayyad Palaces, southwest of Al Aqsa
Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif.

Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani urged Israel not to meddle with the
Umayyad Palaces area and to ensure its return under the jurisdiction of the
Jordanian Jerusalem Awqaf Department, which is the entity responsible for
administering and safeguarding the site, the Jordan News Agency, Petra,
reported.

Israeli occupation forces have recently settled internal differences among
followers of different Jewish sects at the expense of the area of the
Umayyad Palaces, Petra said.

Israeli occupation forces had decided to expand a platform to allow more
Jewish worshippers into the area.

The violation against the Umayyad Palaces is the latest in a long series of
assaults and violations against the site, Petra said, adding that occupation
forces have carried out several excavation works there, destroying Arab and
Islamic heritage.

They have also stolen and moved many pieces of Islamic antiquities out of
the site of the Umayyad Palaces, according to the agency.

Israeli forces put up signs with the names of different places written on
them in Hebrew to be used as visitor guides and gave permission for Jewish
religious ceremonies to be held at the site.

Last Thursday[4 Feb], Petra reported that Jerusalem Awqaf Department
Director Azzam Khatib Tamimi a letter of protest sent to the occupation
force chief in Jerusalem condemning Israel’s violations against the Umayyad
Palaces area.

Israel, as an occupation force, is legally bound to preserve the status quo
before 1967 and honour the 1994 Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, Tamimi said
in the letter, demanding that the occupation authorities halt excavations
and end the destruction of Arab and Islamic heritage sites.

He called for removing a makeshift metal roof set up in the centre of the
Umayyad Palaces site.

Tamimi also demanded the removal of metal and wooden platforms set up to
expand the yards designated for Jewish prayers next to Al Aqsa Mosque’s
Western Wall.

Tamimi, whose team is affiliated with the Awqaf Ministry, stressed the
Hashemite custodianship Al Aqsa Mosque, urging Israel to respect everything
related to Al Haram Al Sharif, Islam’s third-holiest shrine.
===============
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA